


To Deserve a Hug Every Morning

by Darkmagyk



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Pre-The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson), parental neglect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25891015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkmagyk/pseuds/Darkmagyk
Summary: The worst day of Frederick Chase's life.Frederick had always wanted three children. Two boys and a girl. When he was little, it was because he knew that was a perfect family. When he got older, it was because he wanted to reclaim something that had been taken from him.When the doctor had said it was twin boys, he’d kissed his wife in the office. Finally, after everything it would be ok.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Frederick Chase, Frederick Chase/Mrs. Chase
Comments: 6
Kudos: 147





	To Deserve a Hug Every Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Bob Carlisle's Butterfly Kisses, or, the most kinda creepy, saccharine father/daughter song ever. Which seemed to fit for the tone of in an ironic way.
> 
> Content warning: canon parental neglect viewed through the parent doing the neglecting and not noticing it.

Frederick had always wanted three children. Two boys and a girl. When he was little, it was because he knew that was a perfect family. When he got older, it was because he wanted to reclaim something that had been taken from him.

When the doctor had said it was twin boys, he’d kissed Charlotte in the office. Finally, after everything it would be ok.

It had been hard. He hadn’t been expecting Annabeth and hadn’t always been able to give her what she needed. Charlotte had said he was too indulgent with her in some way, five-year olds shouldn’t be given such tiny Legos and actual bricks and concrete to build things, and too strict in others, five-year olds shouldn't be studying times tables, let along fractions.

Annabeth needed some maternal influence, and Charlotte had been so willing to be that. And it hadn’t been an easy adjustment, exactly, and Annabeth had seemed unsure of what to make of Charlotte for a while. But Charlotte had said that was to be expected. She was five then six year old little girls were dramatic and temperamental. She was adjusting and then everything would be fine. Charlotte never shied away from the nitty gritty of parenthood, she wasn’t afraid to be a disciplinarian, to step in and correct something when she thought Annabeth or Frederick was wrong.

She didn’t always understand things perfectly. She couldn’t really see the monsters that Frederick could, but her advice to ignore them seems like good advice. Annabeth seemed to keep getting caught up in them and always determined to face them head on. But Boston had been full of monsters when Frederick had been growing up, too. Randolph had had to fight one, once, and Frederick had once thrown a rock at a wolf that looked about to pounce at a sleeping homeless man, but they’d been pretty content to leave you alone if you didn’t bother them.

But now Annabeth had adjusted, and Charlotte had settled, and they had two new little boys for a complete set.

The perfect family Frederick had always wanted.

He was worried about those new spider nightmares. He knew enough Greek mythology to know it wasn’t just some normal childhood phobia.

“Oldest children often react and act out when they have younger siblings.” Charlotte said on the phone the night before, probably quoting a parenting book. She was good about that. Frederick gave up when Annabeth started talking in complete sentences about six months before the book said she should. “It is the same with the problems she’s been having in school. She’s acting out for attention.”

Frederick frowned at it, “She’s seven.”

“Yes,” Charlotte said, “She’s a big sister now. She needs to stop.”

“No,” Frederick said, “She’s seven, if she’s acting out for attention, she probably needs attention.” Their family was perfect, but two babies was a lot of work. Annabeth was having trouble in school. She was so smart it had kind of surprised all of them. And he really was worried about those nightmares. He’d been traveling a lot lately, doing some research, and when he was home, the crying infants took much of his attention. Charlotte was still on maternity leave, but she was just one woman not getting enough sleep.

“You’re right,” Charlotte said, “but she does not need that attention at 1 in the morning, when we’re all trying to get to sleep, two nights in a row.”

Frederick nodded in his hotel room, even though she couldn’t see him. But he would need to do something. This weekend, maybe. He’d take her to DC. She loved the architecture and they could go to a museum, just the two of them. And if the nightmares kept up, maybe he’d talk to her doctor. And hope they weren’t something magical he couldn’t help with.

He got home early the next morning with a smile on his face. His flight was early, but the jet lag was still in effect, and he’d been keeping irregular hours, anyway, so he had no desire to go to sleep. He had a plan. He’d have to keep an eye on the clock, but if he helped, he should be able to get Annabeth ready with plenty of time to spare. And then he’d take her out to breakfast at the diner down the street from her school, maybe tell her about going to DC this weekend. Though maybe he’d tell her they could only go if they didn’t get another call from her school about her being disruptive in class.

He wasn’t going into the University today, so he’d be able to let Charlotte rest while he took care of the boys after he dropped Annabeth off at school.

He slipped his suitcase into their room, but he let Charlotte sleep a bit longer and went to check on the boys.

They were perfect in sleep, side by side in matching cribs.

Had they grown in the week he was away? Probably.

Babies changed so much, so quickly. Annabeth’s babyhood has been overshadowed by stress, resentment towards Athena, and the horrors of a postdoc. The things that stood out years later were mostly the things that had shocked and surprised him. Her addressing him as ‘Daddy’ at five months in opposition to everything the books said, and her similarly taking her first steps at eight months, after only a little bit of trial and error. He remembers her little smile and her tiny laugh, but only in a general sense. He doesn’t remember her firsts. He hadn’t been able to focus on the little joys of it all.

Even though there are two of them, it’s so much easier with the boys. He’d missed Robert’s first laugh, but Charlotte had gotten a recording. And Matthew’s had been in his arms.

He’d been traveling more, but he really got to appreciate it more, too. He wanted to run a finger across their smooth cheeks and through their downy hair, but he didn’t. They were much better sleepers than Annabeth had been, or maybe still was, but Matthew can be a light sleeper, and they always wake each other up. And he can’t wake them up and then just leave them for Charlotte to take care of. So, he just stares at them happily for a few minutes, convinced he has a slightly dopy smile on his face. But he can’t help it. This was everything he wanted he wanted in the whole world. His perfect family safe and sleepy and waiting for him at home.

He tiptoes out of there room and is careful to close the door quietly.

Annabeth’s room is at the end of the hall, across from his office. It was smaller than the twins’, because there was only one of her, but it had the big picture window and the built-in shelves for all her books. That had all seemed perfect when they’d moved in last year, but now he wondered if the books might be a problem. He used to read to her a lot. Her books and his own, but he didn’t have the time for it, and it wasn’t Charlotte’s thing. Before she started first grade, one of them had said she’d be able to read through all of them herself, soon. But in addition to the general disruptiveness in class, she was having a really hard time with reading, too. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of that or what they were going to do about it. He’d cancelled a meeting with her teacher a couple of weeks ago because of an unexpected surfacing of some journals he’d had to go to London to retrieve. He should probably reschedule. Another thing to do.

Maybe he’d ask her opinion. She was always so eager to take a role in her own education. She’d wanted to choose her own first grade, until Charlotte had said it was ridiculous, and she’d stolen both his old Harvard shirts for pajamas in the summer, saying it was completely reasonable, because she’d go there too. He’d meant to take her when they were in Boston for Thanksgiving, but then things had gone badly, and he just wanted to come home. Maybe this Summer, when he was done with his book and she was out of school, all five of them could go together.

He knocked on Annabeth’s door lightly before pushing it open, “Dear, it’s time to get up,” He called, trying to keep his voice low enough to not wake any other of their house’s inhabitants. He stepped into the room. The early morning sun streamed through her half open blinds and onto her rumpled quilt.

Annabeth’s bed was empty.

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on [tumblr](http://darkmagyk.tumblr.com/). 
> 
> We can talk about Annabeth and Frederick and how literally my entire conception of their relationship changed today when I remembered that Annabeth didn't run away until here dad wasn't home. Just, I have A LOT of Frederick Chase, Legacy of Frey, feelings.


End file.
